Bread prices are reported to have gone up by ten to fifteen tetri around the country, after a poor global wheat harvest forced up flour prices. Bakers first made lighter, cheaper bread, before finally marking up prices. Has your family felt the higher prices? What impact is this having on Georgians? (view responses)
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Friday, August 3
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Ombudsman slams Batiashvili verdict as "groundless"
On August 2, Georgian Human Rights Ombudsman Sozar Subari labelled the court decision on Irakli Batiashvili's sentencing as "groundless and unjustified."
Batiashvili, leader of the Forward Georgia party, was arrested in August 2006 and charged with links to an uprising in the Kodori Gorge staged by rebel warlord Emzar Kvitsiani. (more)
IFAD, World Bank helping Georgian agriculture
Developing domestic agriculture is a priority for Georgia, said the ministers of finance and agriculture as they launched a project to invigorate the industry.
Speaking August 1 at the Sheraton Metekhi Palace, Agriculture Minister Petre Tsiskarishvil and Finance Minister Alekso Aleksishvili, together with representatives of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said the project would use its USD 34.7 million budget to fund developments and subsidize business loans. (more)
Tbilisi-Moscow flight talks crash and burn
The drawn-out negotiations on resuming direct Tbilisi-Moscow flights have once again proved fruitless. Nor are there any prospects of summer charter flights, the Russian Embassy in Georgia declared August 2. (more)
Tbilisi City Hall under fire for decree on "illegal" properties
The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) slammed the Tbilisi city government at a July 30 press conference for, they said, infringing on private property rights. (more)
News in Brief

Meeting with Putin would be a small step forward
An August meeting between Saakashvili and Putin is a possibility, Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko recently confirmed. And while the last head-to-head produced few real results, encouragement can be found simply in the shared willingness to meet. (more)


Socioeconomic inequality in Georgia critical
Social inequality in Georgia has increased dramatically, seriously threatening the stability of the country, according to the Georgian Institute of Strategy and Development (STanD). (more)
Azerbaijan's foreign debt nearly USD 2 billion
Azerbaijan's foreign debt now stands at USD 1.98 billion, or USD 243 for each Azeri citizen, reports the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan. (more)
Trabzon wants to join Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad project
Trabzon port authorities are interested in joining the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad project, writes the news agency Regnum. Chetin Nukhoglu, head of the Communication and Logistics Department of the Union of Turkish Commerce Chambers and Exchanges, stated that Trabzon would benefit from having a direct rail link to Central Asia and China. (more)
Orient Logic and Symantec in partnership
The Georgian company Orient Logic is now a partner of the global company Symantec, a world leader in information security. Symantec representatives from Russia spoke of the excellent cooperation between their company and Orient Logic at an August 1 press conference. (more)
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